a new challenge: design a Christmas Card

old Christmas card design, Vivien Blackburn

Christmas Card Challenge

I thought it might be time for a new challenge?

Do you design your own Christmas cards? or fancy doing it for the first time? If so, please post a link to your design in the comments as you design them, and I'll do a round up of your designs and a link to your blog at the beginning of December :>) - you've got lots of time.

I usually design a card for me to print out each year but also do separate hand made ones for painting friends and family.

There is something special about cards from friends who have created their own.

Tips and ideas:

160gsm card will go through most printers and is strong enough to stand up.

Collage is great for personalised cards as it's quick and the simplicity can have a real impact and a contemporary edge.

Watercolour paper is of course perfect for those wanting to use w'col.

Doodle ideas in a sketchbook or scraps of paper and then work out the best and simplest ways of expressing them.

Do you want a religious theme? a non-religious but seasonal theme? Cold weather scene? Cartoon? warm by the fire cosiness? glitter and shine? contemporary/abstract? realist scene? Impressionist snowy landscapes? Photographs? cute? edgy? more gravitas?


Photoshop or other graphics programmes are great to play about with images and text for printed cards. You can design a card totally within the computer or scan/photograph elements to combine and play with creatively - no limits :>)


With cards any and every medium can be used, no worries about archival quality :>)

For collage collect scraps of gorgeous hand made papers, tissue, fabric, metallic shiny papers, sweetie wrappers - and hand painted papers (much more interesting than colours cut from magazines) - then play!



links to some of the cards I've previously shown:

Digital image

Collage cards

Are you going to join in ?

update:

see the comments - ideas are rolling in already :>)

and check out the paper folding ideas on the youtube links on Gesa's blog they look as though they'd be fun to play with